Gone
by mermaidbyheart
Summary: Bridget Sanchez has it all: the best of friends and a chance to get to the Pro Circuit. Until one day she disappears and the gang's life is totally shaken up. How will the others ever be able to cope? And what will happen when they finally find her, but learn terrible news? Is their friendship strong enough?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

"The waves are perfect, don't you think?" Bridget smiled to Loren while walking with her and the others down the beach.

"Yeah. Such a pity we have a fitness training first." The other blond murmured.

"True. I can't wait to get in there." Cassie added.

The three girls smiled to each other. In front of them were the boys who were in a deep conversation about everything and at the same time nothing in particular.

"I just want to say this is going to be the best year of my life!" Cassie exclaimed to the other two.

"Sure will be Cass. It's the same with us." Loren smiled to her.

The finally reached their destination and started their training. Garry was again trying to push them hard to their limits, but they didn't complain. After what seemed like ages but were actually only two hours they finally headed to take their boards and to jump into the waves.

Surfing for another two hours, they left their boards on the beach and started having their usual fun in the water. Guy grabbed Bridget letting her sit on his shoulders. Adam and Charlie did the same with Cassie and Loren. They were laughing so hard that in the end they all landed in the water. Then Guy suddenly dived under water, and grabbed Cassie's leg. She lost her balance and ended up falling under. Guy then reappeared on the surface and started laughing.

"Guys, come on, it's lunch time." They heard Garry yelling and got out of the water.

"So, who's cooking lunch today?" Bridget asked wrapping her towel around her body and taking her board.

"I think it's us." Guy answered her with a smile.

"Ok, then." She nodded smiling too and they headed up to the house with the others.

Everyone took a quick shower and Bridget and Guy went downstairs to the kitchen.

Bridget checked the fridge and the cupboards and announced: "We don't have much stuff left. Someone has to go shopping soon."

"Ok."

They cooked the lunch and soon enough everyone were sitting on the table eating and talking with each other and discussing different things.

"Bridget, Guy, this was really delicious!" Bec told them with a smile. "Every time I try to cook that I fail. What's your secret?"

Bridget smiled.

"Nothing actually. I haven't added anything extra to it." The blond answered.

"Well, actually, I did." Guy said and she looked at him trying not to burst in laughter. "You what? When exactly did you manage to do it, I was around you all the time?"

"I put some basil in it when you turned to the cupboard to search for the salt." He smiled guiltily.

She shook her head and then to his astonishment burst into laughter. "Oh, Guy, you'll never change will you?"

"Never." He said laughing too.

{ . }

After they ate their lunch everyone headed to their rooms to do some school work. Bridget grabbed her laptop, opened it and for about two hours she was almost done. Loren was doing well too, finishing her history essay. She was occasionally asking Bridget a question or two and soon enough she was done.

"Finally done." She announced to the curly blond and stretched her hands.

Bridget only smiled. "I'll be finished soon too."

Loren didn't respond, only rested her head on her pillow.

Soon Bridget was done too. She stretched her hands, closed her laptop and turned to Loren only to see her fallen asleep. She smiled to herself and quietly walked out of their room. She went to the boys' room and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" She heard as a response and opened the door.

"Up for a pool game anyone?"

Adam and Charlie immediately said "Yes", but Guy murmured he had a lot of homework to finish. The two boys just rolled their eyes laughing and went out of the room past the blond.

Bridget smiled and walked to where he was writing on his laptop.

"Let me see." She said and leaned to see the screen. "I can help you with that if you want." She said with a smile to him.

"Really?" He asked.

She smirked. "It'll take me only about half an hour." And she turned to look at him. "But the question is what will_ I_ get of helping you?"

"Anything." Guy answered quickly.

Bridget smirked. "How about you being my personalized coach for games of pool?"

Guy stood and leaned as if he was making a bow to her gesturing with his hand. "On your services milady."

Bridget burst into laughter and took the laptop in her hands. "I can't believe _I_ was the one to actually come out with this idea." She rolled her eyes and smiled to him. "Come here and let's get started."

He obeyed and they sat together on his bed. She was giving him instructions what to write and was correcting him from time to time. After half an hour they were ready just like she promised.

"Bridget Sanchez I love you." Guy smiled to her feeling exhausted and leaving the laptop on his desk.

"Yeah, just because I helped you with the essay. Now let's go downstairs and play some pool."

And they left the room without any word more.

{ . }

About three hours later Bridget left her stick saying "I'm heading up to bed, I'm beaten up."

"But you have to admit I am a very good coach. Look at how much you've improved for only three hours!" Guy smirked.

"Yeah, yeah." She giggled. "Night guys!"

The others wished her good night and she was off to the room she and Lauren shared. Soon enough Lauren followed her. When she opened the door she saw Bridget was still awake, reading a book.

"I thought you were asleep." She smiled to her friend while putting on her night wear.

"I felt like reading before drifting on to sleep." The curly blond answered smiling too.

Loren snuck in her bed and rested her head on her pillow. Not long after she had fallen asleep.

Bridget took a look at her and thought about how happy she was with Charlie and how happy Cassie was with Adam. Somehow they paired off together fitting perfectly.

The curly blond felt the slightest bit of jealousy. Why it had to be her and Guy who couldn't fit together out of all?!

Then again, Bec and Gary weren't together too she remembered. Garry had a girlfriend and Bec was happy to be alone at the moment. The brunette only a few years older was like a role model for Bridget and sometimes she secretly wished to be more like her. That's why if Bec was doing fine without a boyfriend than so would she.

Bridget's eyes closed and deep in thoughts she fell asleep the book falling down slipping out of her lightened grip and thudding to the floor.

That night Bridget dreamt about many things. She dreamt about the ocean, about her friends, her family, the Pro Circuit even, but most of all she dreamt about…_Guy_.

Although she'd never admit it to herself, deep down in her heart she was regretting the decision for them to be just friends.

She _hated _it.

* * *

**a/n:** I hope you've liked the chapter. I promise to update the next chapters as soon as I can. Don't forget to **review**, reading your reviews keeps me _inspired_! Have a nice day! xX


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

The next day there was no sign of the yesterday's sun.

The weather outside was getting worse like with every minute now. Black clouds had covered the sky and soon enough the rain would start. Like that wasn't bad enough, but in the bad weather the waves looked even more tempting.

Alone in the living room Guy was standing by one of the windows staring outside at the ocean. Still, he knew better than to go surfing in this weather. Cassie, Adam, Loren and Charlie were in the pool room for a grand pool tournament.

"I hate the bad weather." Guy murmured casting another glance outside the window.

"Speak for yourself." He heard a voice behind himself and spun around.

Bridget was standing by the door dressed only in her swim suit and with a towel in her hands.

"Bridget?! Where are you going?"

"Surfing." She announced to him and walked out of the door before he could say even a word.

He shook his head and turned around to look through the window again before heading upstairs to his room.

He lied on his bed and left his thoughts drift back to Bridget. He couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she was. Everything about her - her curly hair gently falling down her shoulders, her ocean-blue eyes that reminded him of the big, high waves, her alabaster skin that was glowing in the darkness of the night making her look like angelic creature – was irresistible. He could never forget the day of the school dance; she was so beautiful in that short turquoise dress that he couldn't keep his eyes off her the whole night. And then, after that, at the camp of Garry's friend Dan, dressed with that tight blue jeans, the white t-shirt and the cowboy shoes Bridget looked so…sexy.

Seeing her first thing in the morning was like a sign for having a good day. Yeah, who would've thought Guy Spender out of all guys will fall head to feet for a girl.

But she wasn't just any girl. She was the most amazing girl and sometimes Guy wished he had never agreed to stay just friends with her. He always ignored his feelings for her and most of the time it seemed to really work, but sometimes when he would see her smile to the stupid joke he'd just said or when she would hug him in a moment of contempt that they did really good job at something, it was impossible for him to be careless and not to feel his heart filling with joy.

He sighed. If only she'd feel the same way about him things would be so different, so much easier. He closed his eyes and deep in thoughts he didn't notice when exactly he had drifted off to sleep.

{ . }

When he woke up it was late in the afternoon and it had already started to buckle down. Everybody was now in the living room and were discussing whether Adam and Charlie had fairly won the tournament or if they cheated. The boys were defending themselves and the girls were just laughing. When Guy walked downstairs, he looked around and he felt a gut feeling rising in his chest when he didn't see a certain blond bubbling around with the others.

"Isn't Bridget back yet?" He asked.

"Back? Back from where?" Loren asked him.

"She went surfing in the morning. I thought she'd be back by now."

"Well, she isn't." Loren said wondering if she should get worried. "Shell we go out and look for her?"

"Let's just get Bec or Garry. They'd know better what to do." Cassie suggested trying to stay calm and went to Bec's office.

Guy only nodded silently and went to the window. There could be hardly seen anything outside. Only from time to time when bolts were lightening the sky the black waters of the ocean would shine with a spooky glow.

He tried to tell himself everything with her was fine, but deep down in his chest the gut feeling he had was telling him something was wrong. He knew she loved the rain, but he was more than convinced she would've come back in the very minute it started raining cats and dogs.

"What's the matter, Cassie said there was something important you wanted to talk to me about?" Guy heard Bec's voice and turned around.

"Bridget went surfing early in the morning and she's not back yet." He was quick enough to answer.

"What? She went surfing in this weather?" Garry asked shocked.

"I should've stopped her." Guy said more to himself than to the others.

"Ok, listen guys, me and Garry are going to look for her. I'm sure everything's fine and there's no place for worries. You just stay here and call us if she gets back before we find her." Bec said to all of them gently and she and Garry took two raincoats and went outside.

"I don't like this. What if something's happened to her?" Loren asked getting really worried.

"There's something wrong and I know it."

"Don't think like that. Bridget's a top surfer, Guy, she'll be alright." Still, Adam didn't seem much convinced when he said that.

The next few minutes felt like hours for the five teens. Guy was pacing around, Charlie was trying to calm Loren down quietly and Adam was on the couch holding Cassie with one arm and banging on his knee with his fingers with the other, trying to get rid of the bad feeling he himself had too just like the others.

When the door opened and everyone jumped on their feet and stood on edge staring at it. When they realized Bec and Garry had come back alone, they began to worry big time.

"We couldn't find her." Bec said answering everyone's worry looks. "I think it's better to wait for the rain to call off and then we'll go search for her again if she's not back until then."

"Shouldn't we call the police?"

"We don't know what happened, Cassie. She may be alright. It's not long she's been gone. Besides the police won't do anything unless she's been missing for 48 hours, so I think the best for us for now is to wait."

"We can't just wait." Everyone jumped hearing Guy's yell. Never before they had ever heard him raising a voice against anyone not to mention Bec or Garry.

"I understand how you must be feeling Guy, but there's not much we can do at this point." Garry told him trying to sound gentle.

Guy crashed down on the couch next to Adam and breathed hard. Adam put his hand on Guy's shoulder.

"Bridget's a strong girl, Guy. She'll be alright. Everything will be alright, you'll see." And he shot a barely visible smile to the other boy.

So they sat down and waited.

Bec went to her office followed by Garry to make a route on the Blue Water Beach's map in case Bridget didn't come back and they had to organize a search. Loren and Cassie hugged each other on the couch and stayed like that. Charlie buried his face in his hands trying to calm down. Adam grabbed a magazine from the table before him, trying to distract himself from reality, but soon he realized he couldn't focus on it and threw it back. Guy started pacing again, then stopped and sat down then stood up and started pacing again shooting occasional looks outside the window and to the door.

Everyone's minds were occupied by one single thought. A wish for their dearest friend to be ok.

* * *

**a/n:** _Hope you've liked Chapter 2. I promise I'll update with the next chapter as soon as I can! R&R :-)_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

It was already 10 p.m. and they'd been waiting together for the whole evening when Bec walked out of her office and was surprised to see them all still in the living room.

"What are you all doing still here? Aren't you going to bed?"

"What's the point?!" Cassie said bitterly. "It's not like we can get any sleep."

"You should try though." Bec told her softly. "You'll be of no help to Bridget if you stay up the whole night. Go get some sleep and who knows, maybe when we wake up, she'll be here and everything will be fine."

"Do you really believe that?!" Guy asked her sarcastically.

"Not really, but I want to believe it. Now off to bed all of you!" Bec ordered them.

The boys headed upstairs followed by Cassie and Loren. The two girls seemed to be a lot more shaken up than the boys because Bridget was like a sister to them.

When Loren opened the door of her room, the emptiness of Bridget's bed caused her eyes to fill with tears.

"Cassie?" She turned to call the brunette.

"Yes?" The other girl responded turning to look at her.

"Would you stay in my room? I don't want to be alone this night."

"Ok." She nodded. "I don't want to be alone either."

{ . }

At the boys' room the things weren't much different.

"What do you thing might've happened to her?" Adam asked the other boys worriedly.

"I don't know, but I never should've left her go out there." Guy said, sounding angry at himself.

"Come on, Guy. Do you really think you could've stopped her?! I mean that's Bridget we're talking about here." Charlie reminded him.

Guy didn't respond.

That night no one could get much sleep.

{ . }

Cassie, who by Loren's request had to sleep in Bridget's bed, could smell the sheets were soaked with the curly blonde's black orchid perfume and that reminded her so much of Bridget that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fall asleep. On top of that she could hear her friend's quiet sniffling through almost the whole night.

Loren couldn't help but let the tears fall. She was scared and she missed her best friend so much. In her mind she was praying for Bridget to be ok. That's all she wanted now. She didn't care about the pro circuit and if she would win or not. All she cared for now was Bridget and Bridget only.

Charlie felt worried and confused. Bridget was getting maximum points for surfing and for the house work. She was a top surfer just like him. So he couldn't stop asking himself questions like for example what could have happened to her and why. He tried to stay positive and to hope for the better, but he was also a realist and he knew if everything was fine she would've been already there with them now.

Adam felt distraught. He still couldn't assume what was happening and couldn't imagine Bridget not coming back. He tried to stay calm, because he knew he owed that to himself and to his friends, but deep in his heart fear was starting to rise. What if something really bad has happened to her? What if she's never coming back?!

Guy felt so much emotions going through his mind and his heart. He felt scared to death for Bridget, angry at himself for letting her go out there and it was almost impossible for him to stay calm. He tried to stay positive, he tried not to lose hope, but while the time was going by and she still was missing he was starting to get even more paranoid. He didn't want to imagine the possibility of never seeing her again.

Seeing the two girls so scared and the boys so shaken up broke Bec's heart. She knew Bridget was like a sister to them and how much they loved her despite their differences. She knew that as the leader of the house she should be very strong for all of them and she should be giving them hope and comfort. But how could she do that when she herself felt so scared and unsure of what's going to happen. The only person she could relay on to stand to her now was Garry. He always had an answer; he always knew what's best to be done at the different situations. Bec realized that at this point if she wanted to keep her inner balance and consciousness she had to hold on to him for support.

Garry knew everyone in the house would expect him to take the lead. Even Bec. He knew he would be the one they would turn to for comfort and support. But it was very hard for him just like it was for the others. He was Bridget's coach too. He was her mentor and he knew for fact she had made him her role model as well as Bec. At Bridget Garry had secretly put all his hopes and dreams for the pro circuit. At one point he had seen a part of himself in her. So it was really hard for him to stay strong and careless. But he knew he had no choice. He had to be strong not only for those five people and Bec, but also for _her_. For Bridget.

That evening everybody went to bed with the hope that they'd run away from this nightmare in their dreams. Not that they were going to be able to get any sleep at all, but that was another story.

{ . }

The first one to wake up in the morning was Garry.

He went down to the kitchen to get himself a glass of orange juice. He looked outside and sighed. The sky had cleaned up from the clouds through the night after all the rain had already fallen down and was now colored in the first rays of the sunrise.

Garry took a sip of his juice.

"How can you be up so early?"

He turned around to the source of the voice. It was Bec.

She was fully dressed but had a dark circles under her eyes.

"I couldn't get much sleep." Garry responded tiredly.

"Yeah, neither could I." Bec sighed.

Garry shook his head.

"I just don't know what we are going to do." He admitted. "We're supposed to be strong and give the kids some kind of hope and comfort, but…it's just too hard. One of them is missing and whatever we say or do will never heal the hole in their lives and in their hearts."

Bec nodded silently. "I know. But I'm sure we can get through this. I'm trying to stay positive hoping Bridget will show up and everything will work out fine. We have to have this hope, otherwise we have nothing to hold on to."

Garry turned to look outside the window again. "The part I don't get is _why_? Why would Bridget go surfing when the storm was beginning to roll? She's very smart and she's the responsible one. She'd never take such a big risk. I would've expected something so dumb from Guy or Adam or even Cassie, but _Bridget_?! It doesn't make any sense and it's just so not like her."

Bec sighed. "I guess she couldn't resist the temptation seeing the size of the waves in the stormy weather and she just…wanted to go out there for a ride. You know it _yourself_ how big the temptation is."

Garry shook his head. "That was different. I was careless. And I ended up with an injury that coasted my place in the pro circuit."

"But you don't regret it, do you?!"

"No." He placed the empty glass on the sink and walked to the door to go out for a walk. "But it still coasted me my career." He finished and opened the door. "I'm going for a quick run. I need some fresh air." And he walked out of the house leaving Bec alone in the kitchen.

She didn't want to sit there alone so she went into the office to keep herself occupied with work until everyone else wake up.

{ . }

Somehow in the early morning hours Loren managed to fall asleep.

When it was about seven in the morning Cassie snuck out of Bridget's bed and quietly walked out of the room. She took a quick shower, put on her swimsuit and got her tower walking out of her room.

Downstairs at the kitchen Cassie saw Adam was awake and was making himself some breakfast. She walked to him giving him a kiss on the cheek and she hugged him curling her arms around his waist. He fondled her hair gently with one hand while holding her tight with the other.

"I'm scared, Adam." Cassie whispered.

He didn't want to admit it, but he was scared too.

"Me too." He said. "But we've got to have hope."

"I know."

He realized she was dressed only in her swimsuit. "Why are you wearing that?"

"I'm going to the pool for a swim."

"Why don't you come surfing with me instead? I was just going out when you came downstairs."

"I'm not so sure if I have the strength to do it. I'll look at the water thinking of _her_ and –"

"You're strong enough for this." Adam encouraged her and gave her a small smile. "I miss her too, but I'm sure some surfing will help us feel a bit better."

"Ok, then. I'll come with you." Cassie finally agreed.

He walked to the door stretching his hand to her. "Come on."

She hesitated for a split second then walked towards him taking his hand. A sigh escaped her lips while they were walking out the door.

{ . }

The next one to wake up was Charlie. He stood up in his bed, yawned sleepily and turned his head to look if the other two were awake. Adam wasn't there and Guy had his back turned to the blond so he couldn't really tell if the other boy was awake or not.

Just when Charlie pulled the covers off him and stood up from his bed Guy turned around to look at him.

"Good morning." He said to the blond, but the other boy could feel it's more of an empty phrase than a real greeting and he sensed the hurt and the bitterness in Guy's voice.

"Good morning to you too." He answered the other boy eyeing him worriedly. "I'm going downstairs to make myself some breakfast. Would you like to join me?"

Guy sighed and buried his face in his hands for a moment before sitting up and getting off the bed. "Fine, I'll join you."

And he walked to the door, opening it and walking out of the room. Realizing Charlie was still standing on his place staring at him, Guy raised his eyebrows "Hello?! Are you going or what?!"

Charlie only nodded and hurried with Guy downstairs to the kitchen.

{ . }

Downstairs they ran to Cassie and Adam who had just gotten back from the beach.

"Where were you two?" Charlie asked them just to start some sort of conversation.

"We went surfing." Adam answered simply.

_Surfing. _The word echoed in Guy's brain and for a moment he lost control of his actions. He dropped down the glass he had just taken off the shelf to pour himself juice and it smashed on the floor.

Adam, Charlie and Cassie jumped on their places and looked at Guy worriedly.

"Guy, are you ok?" Cassie asked him gently putting her hand on his shoulder.

He closed his eyes and swallowed hard then slowly nodded. "Yes, I'm fine, I just - "

He couldn't finish, but they all understood. With the corner of his eyes he noticed Cassie moving and in the next moment she had already wrapped her hands around him. "It's ok Guy. I know how much you cared for her. Just know all of us are here for you." She said softly and the two boys standing next to them nodded in confirmation.

Guy felt wetness coming up to his eyes and filling them. He lifted one of his hands and put it on her shoulder, giving her a hug back. While he was pulling away Cassie felt something wet falling on her shoulder.

Before she or the boys could say or do anything else Guy ran upstairs and they heard the slamming of the door of the boys' room.

Cassie felt a single tear rolling down her cheek too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The rest of day didn't go much different. Everyone was too tense and frustrated and barely said a word.

Guy didn't bother to show up downstairs again for hours.

Loren and Cassie suddenly volunteered to do whatever there was to be done, just to keep themselves occupied with something, _anything_.

Adam and Charlie thought playing pool will help them clear their heads, but when it didn't work, they decided to go surfing instead. If anything, riding the big blue waves always made them feel better.

It was killing Bec inside to just watch the kids so scared and shaken up. She was trying her best to stay positive and give them hope, but she herself felt she was beginning to break.

Garry was trying to stay strong for everyone and to help Bec with everything he could. It was really hard for him, but somehow he managed it.

It was already evening when everybody had gathered in the living room by Bec's request. Bec and Garry had had a talk before that, realizing they had no other choice but claim Bridget officially missing.

Bec stood up in front of everyone.

"I know, it's hard for all of you, but thirty-six hours had passed since Bridget's gone missing and it's time to call the police. I know it will not be easy for any of you to go through that. They'll ask you numerous questions and it won't be easy to answer without letting your emotions float up on the surface. To ask you to stay strong is too much, but I want you to know that me and Garry are here for you, for all of you (she looked at Guy particularly when she said that), so keep that in mind, ok?!" She gave them a weak smile as and went to the office to make the call.

Garry took the lead.

"If any of you don't want to talk to the police, nobody can force you. But if we want the police to find her, we'll have to help them with everything we can. The most important thing now is for all of us to stay positive and hope for the best! We ought to have faith." With that he also tried to smile at them and sat back down.

{ . }

An hour later, two policemen arrived at the house. One of them was young in his late 30s, while the other was older and was at least fifty years old.

"Guys, these are officers Jack Sanders and Joe Flint." Bec introduced them to everyone.

"We're going to have to interrogate all of you one by one and we'll start with the last one who saw Miss Sanchez before she disappeared." The younger of the two policemen called Joe announced.

"So, who of you saw her last?" The older one, Jack, asked.

"Me." Guy responded and stood up. "I was the last one to see her."

"Ok." Joe nodded and turned to Bec. "Is there some place where we can interrogate in private?"

"Yes, you can use my office." Bec nodded and showed him the way.

{ . }

Guy walked in the office accompanied by Sanders and Flint.

They pointed one of the chairs to Guy but he shook his head in response; he preferred to stand.

"So," Jim started, "You were the last one to ever see Bridget Sanchez before she disappeared. "would you tell us what happened?"

Guy took a deep breath. "I was in the living room." He began."Outside the weather was as if it would start pouring any minute. Black clouds were covering the sky. The waves were really tempting and I wanted to go out there so bad, but I knew better than that. And then..." He swallowed hard. "...then Bridget came dressed only in her swimsuit and holding her towel. When I asked where was headed to, she said she was going surfing." Guy closed his eyes taking a deep breath. "And she walked out before I could do anything to stop her." And he opened his eyes again, but now they were beginning to get wet. "That's pretty much it."

"She was going out surfing when she knew the storm was about to hit?" Officer Sanders asked. "Why would she do something so reckless?!"

"Bridget loved the bad weather." Guy answered and a slight twitch of the lips ran across his mouth.

"When did you noticed she was missing?"

"A few hours later. After she went out I walked up to my room and it seems I've fallen asleep. When I woke up I went downstairs and I noticed everybody was there except for her. That's when I knew something was wrong."

"And what did you do when you noticed she wasn't there?"

"I asked the others if she was back, but I got a negative answer. Then Cassie went to call up Bec and when I told her what was going on, she and Garry went out to look for Bridget."

"Why didn't you contact the police immediately?"

"Bec and Garry hoped she would come back. Besides we all knew she ought to have been gone for at least two days before the police could claim her officially missing."

"Ok, thank you. We don't have anymore questions for now." Officer Flint said.

Guy nodded and felt relieved the interrogation was over and he could walk out of the office.

{ . }

The interrogation lasted a couple of hours. Everyone had been questioned including Bec and Garry.

They all had to go through that horrible nightmare again and when the questioning was over they looked emotionally exhausted.

When Loren walked out of the office, she couldn't stop crying. Cassie couldn't stop shaking up. Charlie looked like he had seen a ghost and Adam's facial expression was like someone had hit him hard.

When finally Garry and the policemen walked out of the office, officer Jim turned to everyone.

"There is one more thing. We are going to need a photo of miss Sanchez so we can question if anyone has seen her and we can share it and see if anyone will recognize her and would give us some information."

Everyone looked at each other. Finally Loren said "I'll -"

"No.", Guy interrupted her. "I'll go."

And he went upstairs. After a couple of minutes he went back holding a5t beautiful photo of Bridget in his hands. On it she was at the beach, sitting on the sand and was smiling widely. "She looks really pretty in this one." He heard Loren whisper and turned his head around to see her looking at it behind his shoulder.

Guy gave the photo to the two policemen and Bec walked them to the door.

{ . }

The evening was an unusually quiet one.

The girls who were now sharing Cassie's room, went to bed early.

Loren had decided that she didn't want to stay alone at her and Bridget's room and moved in to Cassie's. Cassie was glad of that fact, because she didn't want to sleep in the curly blond's bed again nor in her and Lauren's room and at the same time she didn't want to be alone too.

Adam and Charlie were also up in their room and in there beds. They weren't tired or sleepy, but there wasn't anything else they wanted to do.

Guy was the only one who stayed downstairs in the living room. He didn't want to go up in the room yet.

He paced back and forth, trying to keep his emotions under control.

He felt scared and sad and weak, useless and that was making him mad. But most of all Guy felt angry. Angry he didn't stop her, angry that he didn't run after her and he didn't beg her not to go. Angry he didn't grabbed her and carried her back inside.

He felt how all these emotions were running through his veins and he curled his shaking hands into fists, because he felt his blood bubbling inside.

In the next moment he ran to the door and rushed outside into the cold air, to take a long walk and calm himself down.

{ . }

Bec was in her office, staring blankly at the computer screen. She was trying to finish some work, but to say she was couldn't concentrate was an understatement. Suddenly she heard a quiet knock.

"Come in." She said tiredly.

The door opened and Garry walked inside.

"Shouldn't you get some rest?! You look tired and overstressed." He told her his deep voice soft and comforting.

"I can't." She answered. She stood up, walked past the desk and sat down at one of the chairs by the door. "I have to keep myself occupied with something, because when I stop..." Bec breathed hard and her eyes went filled with tears almost immediately. "...when I stop she's really gone." She buried her face in her hands.

Garry took the chair next to her and pulled her in for a hug. "Everything will be ok, you'll see. We just have to remain calm and strong."

He felt her nodding to him. Bec then moved her head putting it on his shoulder and he felt something wet. Looking down at her, he saw tears running down her cheeks. He hesitated for a moment then lifted his hand and fondled her head gently unsure of what else to do or say. Lowering his hand down again, his fingers brushed her shoulder.

Bec was glad to be in his strong embrace. She was shocked to realize how much being in his hands comforted her and gave her strength. When his fingers brushed slightly the bare skin of her shoulders it made her twitch. His hand was warm and strong, yet his skin was amazingly soft.

Bec closed her eyes trying to calm down.

Still in his embrace, pressed to his muscular body, she could hear the quiet sound of his heartbeat, and could feel his warm breath on the top of her head. She realized the sound of his heart beating made her relax and just like that, eyes closed and in his strong grip, Bec suddenly found herself fallen asleep.

{ . }

The next morning came fast.

When Adam and Charlie woke up they saw Guy fallen asleep on his bed on the covers, clothes on and everything.

They decided to leave him get some more sleep and walked out of the room quietly.

When they got downstairs they realized Cassie and Loren were already there, making breakfast.

The two boys helped the girls put on the table and finish the breakfast when suddenly something came up to Loren's mind. "Oh no." She breathed.

"What is it?" Charlie asked her worriedly.

"Tomorrow Bridget and Guy were supposed to be taking care of the breakfast and the housework!"

"So what?" Adam asked not actually getting the matter. "One of us will do the house duties with Guy and the problem is solved."

Loren shrugged. "I guess you're right." She turned to Charlie as if she was looking for some strange kind of support. He just hugged her instead.

They were already eating their breakfast when Adam suddenly asked:

"Did any of you hear when exactly Guy got back last night?"

"No." Cassie shook her head. "Why?"

"Well when me and Charlie got up this morning we found him fallen asleep on the covers, fully dressed up."

"Hmm..." Was all the brunette said.

Just then the office door opened up and the four teens turned their heads just in time to see Bec and Garry walking out.

Both adults greeted the rest of the gang with "good morning", receiving four tired responses back.

"Where's Guy?!" Garry asked shocked, realizing he was not there with them.

"Upstairs, sleeping." Charlie replied.

Garry sighed then looked at all of them. "I know these few days were really rough for all of you ( "you could say that" was Cassie's quiet sarcastic comment), but we should come back to our everyday lives. We have to continue with our routine and renew fitness training and surfing again. You're here for trying to get to the "Pro Circuit" after all, right?!"

Four weak nods.

"Good. I know how much you all miss her, but we can't just sit down waiting for her to show up and do nothing -"

"Exactly!"

Everybody jumped when they heard Guy's loud objection. They turned to look at the direction of his voice and saw him standing on the stairs and looking more pissed than ever.

"If you want to just carry on pretending nothing had happened then be my guests. But don't expect me to be a part of it!"

And before anyone could stop him he ran to the door and outside.

Garry and Bec shared looks and Garry said, "I'll talk to him."

Bec nodded and looked after him when hurried out to follow Guy.

* * *

**a/n:**_ I'm so so sorry I couldn't update earlier! I hope you've liked Chapter 4! I have a question for you. Do you think I'm keeping a good pace or is everything happening too slow?! I honestly don't know how fast is good to go, but I hope I'm doing ok so far. R&R! :-)_


	5. Chapter 5

**05.**

Adam, Cassie, Lauren and Charlie along with Bec watched Gary disappear out the door, chasing after Guy.

Bec sighed and took her seat at the table. Her eyes travelled around everyone and when she turned to Lauren she saw the blond was staring at her plate, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"Lauren, are you ok?!" The brunette softly asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine, I just..." She trailed off unsure of what to say.

Bec took her hand. "I miss her too."

Loren turned to look at her. "How do you cope?"

"You don't." The brunette shrugged simply. "You just can't. The only thing you can do is let the time heal."

A tear ran down Lauren's cheek. "It's so hard though."

"I know."

Cassie who had listened to their conversation joined in. "We can go through this together, right Bec?!"

"Right, Cassie. _Together_." Bec gave her a warming smile.

"But what if...you know...what if Bridget doesn't come back?"

Lauren had asked the question no one else dared to ask. Everyone's biggest fears.

"Look, Lauren..." Bec started, but Cassie interrupted her.

"Bec, don't try to tell us comforting words, because it doesn't help. Lauren's right. It's more than possible for Bridget to never come back and we all know it!"

Adam put his hand over Cassie's shoulders and him and Charlie both nodded in agreement to her words.

"We are all grown ups, Bec." Charlie said, taking Lauren's hand. "And we all know what's the worst scenario."

Bec felt defeated. "I don't know what else to say beside...I'm proud of you and I admire your strength." And she smiled softly at all of them.

They all stared at her shocked. They'd expected her to say anything, but the very thing she did say.

Suddenly the tensed silence was interrupted by a phone ringing loudly, making all five of them jump in their seats. Bec's nerves were set on edge when she slowly stood up and walked to the phone to answer it.

{ * }

Guy ran out of the house, anger bubbling all over his body. Soon enough he heard footsteps behind him.

"Guy, wait!" Gary shouted after him. He reached grabbing his arm.

"Let me go!" Guy shouted at his face.

He sighed. "Ok, but just listen to me, alright?!"

"I don't want to hear anything!"

"You're going to have to!"

Guy suddenly stopped and turned to face Gary.

"And why should I?"

"Because I only want to help you."

Guy suddenly found himself lost for words. He had expected Gary to shout at him, but he hadn't expected him to talk so calmly.

"Fine." He sighed heavily. "Talk."

"Not here." Gary said and motioned Guy to follow him.

"Where are we going?" Guy asked him suspiciously, but Garry only looked at him and his lips twinkled as if to form a smile.

"You'll see."

They had walked for about half an hour when Gary finally stopped in front of a big, beautiful house.

"Where are we?" Guy asked.

"You'll see." Gary repeated again, leading Guy to the front door of the house.

When Gary reached and pushed the door opened, he let Guy through saying "Welcome to my house."

Guy spun around. "_Your_ house? All of this...is yours?!"

Gary nodded with a smile. "It's my parents' house actually. It's been ages since the last time I've come here."

Guy looked around curiously. The house was really big, beautiful and full of dust. He turned back to look at Gary. "So what are we doing here?"

"You'll find out soon enough, but before that the two of us have to talk."

Guy sighed. He knew things would get to this point, eventually.

"Ok, go ahead."

"Not here. Follow me."

And Gary led Guy down to the basement. It was big with white walls. On one of the walls there were shelves with lots of jars full of who knows what. Gary walked to the closest shelf and picked up one of the jars. He then walked to Guy and extended his hand with the jar to him.

"Take this."

Guy gave him a confused look, but eventually took the jar.

"Now throw it with all the strength you have against that wall."

"This is ridiculous. I'm not going to throw that to your wall." Guy stated.

"Just do it."

"No." Guy shook his head. "Is that why you brought me all the way up here for?! This is ridiculous. It's just a waste of valuable time -"

"When you can be looking for Bridget."

Guy started getting angry again.

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"But that's what you think, isn't it?! You think that I don't care."

"I-"

"Come on, Guy. Just throw that jar."

"No."

"What if I tell you that you're not leaving this house until you do it?!"

"Look, I don't have time for your stupid games, so..."

Guy moved towards the exit, but Gary blocked his way.

"Move."

"No."

"Move out!" Guy felt the anger bubbling in his veins.

"No, I won't."

Suddenly something twisted inside of Guy and before he could even realize what he was doing he threw up the jar against the wall with all his strength. He didn't what was he was more shocked of; the smile on Gary's face, or the huge relief he felt throwing the jar. Gary seemed to have read his thoughts.

"Feeling better?"

"Right." Guy nodded, getting now a bit confused.

Gary pulled two old chairs and after cleaning the dust that covered them, he pointed one to Guy.

"Sit."

Guy sat down and Gary himself did the same.

"I brought you here, Guy, because I know how you feel."

"No you don't." Guy objected calmly. "You don't even have the slightest idea."

"Yes, I do." Gary was now looking him straight into the eyes. "Back when I got the injury that costed me my career in the Pro Circuit, I didn't just lost a great opportunity. I also lost...my girlfriend."

Guy suddenly glared at the him, his eyes wide open, but didn't say anything.

"It was a really stormy day, but the waves were so tempting that I couldn't resist. I grabbed my board and ran to the water." He sighed. "Completely unaware of the fact that my girlfriend had followed me." Gary ran his hand through his hair in desperation. "I told her to get back, but she wouldn't listen. We managed to surf for a good half an hour when it started buckling down. We could hardly see anything...until we ran into some rocks. I tried to keep myself as further as possible from the rocks, getting only a severe leg injury. But my girlfriend wasn't so lucky. No matter how hard she tried, the waves were stronger and kept pushing her towards the rocks. I heard her scream before she disappeared under the water." He looked down and ran a hand through his face. "That was the last time I saw her." He took a deep breath and looked at Guy again.

"How did you cope with the loss?" Guy asked him, trying to hide the curiosity in his voice.

"It took time." Gary said and then suddenly smirked. "And a few dozens of these." He pointed at the shelves full with jars.

"Jars of jam?" Guy raised his eyebrows confused.

"Jars of Jam." Gary nodded. "You felt relieved and less angry after smashing that jar, right?!"

"Yeah, actually I did." Guy nodded. "But how did you -"

"It's what helped me ease all my emotions back then."

Guy just nodded in appreciation, deep in thoughts.

"I know how hard Bridget's disappearance had hit you," Gary put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "but everything will turn out fine in the end. You'll see."

Guy locked eyes with him and moved his lips to say "I'm scared for her."

Gary gave him an understanding and comforting smile, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. "She'll be ok, Guy. You'll see." And he stood up taking another jar and handling it to the brunette. "Now what about letting out some more steam before heading back to the others?!"

For the first time since Bridget had gone missing, Guy felt a small smile rising up on his lips. He then curled his fingers around the small glassy thing.

"You are _on_."

{ * }

_Darkness_. Everything was _black_. Whispers were filling the air along with lots of other strange noises, but she couldn't make out what exactly they were saying.

She fought hard against her body, eager to escape the mass of blackness swallowing her all over, but she realized she was _paralyzed_. She tried to move, but nothing happened. Panic filled her heart and exploded in her chest.

Her eyes started flickering, because of her desperate attempt to open them. They trembled and finally shot open. For a moment the daylight blinded her and she had to blink again to adjust herself to the brightness that surrounded her.

She then tried to focus her mind on things and immediately felt a jolt of pain shooting through her body. Too much of it. She wanted to scream, but her lips didn't even move.

Her head was pounding and was hurting very badly. Her legs hurt and her arms felt sour. She felt something warm on one of her legs and tried to lift herself to look at it, but again nothing happened. Her body didn't obey her. Her right leg had a deep, severe cut and was bleeding heavily, but she couldn't move to see it.

She then focused her attention to her surroundings. Or the parts her eyes caught glimpses of. She realized she was probably on the beach, because of the piece of sky above her and the feeling of sea water washing her feet. She felt she dressed only in her swimsuit, and desperately tried to move again, but nothing happened.

She was trapped in her own body that felt useless.

"_Help_." She thought desperately. "_Someone, please, help me."_

She tried to focus on the sounds again. She then heard someone running and suddenly her view was blocked by a black-haired boy with green eyes and worried facial expression.

"She's conscious." She heard the unfamiliar male say to his friend. "What's your name?" He asked her.

She tried to move her lips, to make a sound, but it was all in vain.

"We should take her to a hospital." She heard another male voice say.

The dark-haired boy nodded and he lifted her gently in his hands. "_She's so beautiful._" He thought.

When he lifted her, her head lolled up helplessly on one side and her eyes caught glimpse of something broken on two pieces. Her heart fell. On her right side there was a surfboard._Her_ surfboard.

* * *

**a/n:** _What a cliffchanger, huh?! I'm so sorry for not updating earlier, but more than two weeks I suffered from severe stomach problems. :( Fortunately, I'm ok already. :) Unfortunately it's the end of the uni year and my exams are coming up. However, I'll try to update as regularily as I can! I hope you have enjoyed the new chapter! R&R to tell me your opinion! :-)_


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